


Princeling and the Frog

by Rubyleaf



Category: DAYS (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Frog Kazama, I tried but I couldn't NOT make these two adore each other within 5 minutes of meeting, IT'S NOT PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE, M/M, Prince Tsukushi, Princess and the Frog AU, also I'm sorry for the wall of text guys, except with a cuteness filter, fairy tale AU, making this a oneshot was a MISTAKE, might be part of a series of fairy tale AUs, no I wasn't inspired by the frog onesie what are you even talking about, that frog onesie isn't HALF as fluffy as this thing, this was supposed to be like 4-5k maximum but my hand slipped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2018-08-24
Packaged: 2019-07-02 00:10:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15784980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubyleaf/pseuds/Rubyleaf
Summary: Tsukushi, young prince of a small kingdom, lost his beloved ball in an inconvenient place and now owes a frog a favor. He starts out a little terrified, but through the frog's kindness and his own gratitude, who is he to say no?





	Princeling and the Frog

Once upon a time, in a land far away beyond our reckoning, there was a small kingdom.

Few have heard about this land, for it was small, and few things ever happened to draw attention to it. It was neither very pretty nor very ugly; it had no famous inhabitants, no notable cities, and it was not rich either; as a matter of fact it was rather poor, but not to the point of starvation. People got by in this land, looking after themselves and rarely getting involved in the business of other countries.

This land was ruled by a queen. Some would say she was still young for the throne, but she was kind and wise, always eager to do what she could for her country and trouble it as little as possible. A handful of years back she had lost the use of her legs, and she rarely showed herself outside of her small palace these days, but her people loved her, knowing and understanding what she was trying to do.

The queen had no husband; he had died years ago, leaving her to rule alone. But she did have a son, a young prince very like to her in build and face and demeanor, and this son shall be the true hero of this tale.

Tsukushi was the boy’s name, a small, shy, clumsy child who grew up into a slightly taller but equally shy and clumsy young man. He had few friends, and most of his time he spent in the palace, reading, attending lessons or helping his mother with the affairs of the kingdom. But every once in a while, when the weather was fair and he had nothing to do inside, he would take a ball and go outside in the garden to play, tossing it up and down in his hands and attempting to catch it.

Today was one of those days. Summer was well on its way, and the sun was bright on the leaves of the garden as Tsukushi ran back and forth, throwing his ball and running after it to try and catch it before it hit the ground. More often than not he was failing, and the ball ended up rolling over the grass or between the trees; once or twice it had even become stuck in a branch, and Tsukushi had had to scramble up and climb until he could reach it, slipping and falling many times in the process. For he knew he could not afford to lose the ball. It was not made of anything precious, but it was precious to him, still being the same ball his late father had used to first teach him this game.

This time, however, his throw seemed to be going well. The ball flew in a high curve, and Tsukushi ran after it, matching his steps to its speed without tripping or falling for a change. His eyes locked on the ball, his hands extended, and he was moments away from catching it in triumph when his foot hit a tree-root.

Tsukushi stumbled and lost balance. The ball landed ahead of him and bounced over the ground, rolling across the lawn into a part of the garden Tsukushi rarely entered. Yelping, he caught himself and ran after him, but there were yet more roots, and many times he had to stagger and slow down to keep from falling and losing the ball entirely.

The ball rolled through the bushes. Tsukushi followed with some difficulty. Still the ball rolled faster. Tsukushi hurried, but could not keep up. In front of him a small glade opened, covered with fresh grass, a small well in the middle. If only he could get onto that glade in time–

The ball rolled into the well and disappeared with a loud  _plunk_.

With a gasp and a shout Tsukushi burst out of the bushes, leaping across the grass to stand on the edge of the well. It was not much, barely more than a hole in the ground, but it was deep, deep and narrow enough to be completely dark below. Where the ball had gone he could not see. All he knew for sure was that it was not coming back out.

Tsukushi stood frozen. Tears welled up in his eyes. What should he do? What should he do? The ball was lost. The precious toy he had treasured so much was trapped in that deep well and could not get back out. What would his mother say when he returned without it? If he could see him from somewhere, what would his father say? What in the world should he do? He couldn’t leave it there!

That only left one solution.

Wiping his eyes and pushing down his fear, Tsukushi knelt down and made ready to descend into the well.

“Hey– Stop, stop! What are you doing?”

Tsukushi stopped in his tracks. His eyes darted right and left in fear and shame. Where had that voice come from? Was someone here who had witnessed his mistake? Was he about to get scolded?

“Um...” he stammered at last, looking and turning and searching in vain. “Um... excuse me... is anyone there?”

“I’m right here.”

Tsukushi looked around again, but he couldn’t see a single person anywhere no matter how much he searched. The only other living creature in this entire glade was a frog sitting on the opposite side of the well.

“Um... I’m sorry, I can’t see you,” he said weakly at last. “Where are you?”

“I’m right in front of you,” said the voice. “Look across the well.”

Tsukushi did as told, but all he could see was the frog.

“I...” Fidgeting, he bowed his head, feeling more stupid and dejected than ever. “I’m so sorry, but I still can’t–”

“Ribbit, ribbit.”

Tsukushi glanced back up, staring blankly at the frog.

“That’s right,” said the voice, and now it dawned on Tsukushi that it was indeed coming from the frog, however that was possible. “Hello, prince. Don’t panic. I may look like a frog, but I promise there’s a very good reason why I can talk.”

Tsukushi didn’t reply; he was stunned speechless.

“Alright, you’re not running away screaming. That’s a first. I’m starting to like you, princeling!” The frog gave a laugh, but when Tsukushi didn’t join in, he quickly turned serious again. “Anyway... you’re looking for the ball that fell into this scary-looking hole, right?”

It was all Tsukushi had in him to give a very stiff nod.

“Well, I’ve been watching you.” The frog hopped closer, and Tsukushi backed away. “And you know what? I like the way you care about this ball. The way you climbed that tree earlier and almost broke your leg to get it back... I think that moved me. I thought it was really cool.” A smile tinted into the frog’s voice. “So that’s why before you go down there and break your neck and die, I thought I’d offer my help.”

Tsukushi stared at him for a full minute, processing his words. Had this frog just called him cool? The thought of being complimented by a talking frog was terrifying, but at the same time his words were kind, a praise he had never received from anyone before. Could someone like that, even a talking, terrifying-looking frog, truly be untrustworthy? Tsukushi didn’t want to think that. This frog’s words had made him happy. Happy enough to try and take him up on his offer.

“Thank you,” he managed out at last, feeling a lump in his throat again, but this time from gratitude. “That would be very kind of you! But... um... how are you planning to help me?”

The frog gave another laugh, and the unbidden vision of a grinning boy his age entered Tsukushi’s head. “You wouldn’t get back out there,” he said. “But I’m a frog, so it’s easier. Watch!” And with that he jumped and disappeared into the depths of the well.

Tsukushi remained waiting on the outside. He waited and waited, unsure how much time had passed, waited until he felt unsure if the frog had truly been real or just a figment of his imagination. But just when he had fully convinced himself that it had all been a dream, there was a noise from below, and moments later the frog came bouncing out of the well, pushing the ball ahead of him into Tsukushi’s hands.

“I got it!” he said triumphantly, the grin so evident in his voice that Tsukushi couldn’t help smiling himself. “Sorry it took so long. This thing was hard to find in the darkness down there!”

Tsukushi laughed, pressing the ball to his chest like a precious treasure. A warmth spread in his chest, relief and joy and gratitude, and suddenly his laughter turned choked, and tears welled up in his eyes. Before he knew what was happening a sob escaped his lips, and tears streamed over his face, dripping down onto the grass and the ball in his arms.

“Wha– Hey!” The frog hopped closer, his voice filled with startled concern. “What’s wrong? You okay?”

Tsukushi sniffled and wiped his eyes. “Y-Yes,” he managed out. “I’m sorry... I’m just so happy, Mr. Frog! Thank you so much for everything... I, um... I wish I could repay you somehow... because...”

“Oh, well, actually... I guess you can.”

Tsukushi glanced up. “Eh?”

“You could invite me to your palace.” Odd-shaped frog eyes gazed up at Tsukushi from below. “Let me eat at the table with you, from your princely plate.”

Every word he could possibly have said in response disappeared from Tsukushi’s head at once.

What had the frog said? His what? His table? The table with him? He wanted to eat on that? From his plate? As in, Tsukushi’s plate? What on earth– He couldn’t just come home to lunch and place a frog on the table, to share his own plate with, much less a talking one! What would his teachers say? What would his mother say?

He was willing to do a lot for this friendly frog, but... he didn’t think his hospitality could go that far.

And yet he couldn’t simply tell him no, could he? That would be awfully rude and ungrateful.

So what should he do?

“Um...” he managed out, slowly backing away. “Um... I don’t know... I’m sorry... I would have to ask if I can bring you in... um...” A plan sparked up in his head, and shame rose up inside him at once. This frog didn’t deserve what he was about to do, but what was he supposed to do? In the worst case he could always change his mind and come back again.

“I, um... I n-n-need to ask for permission,” he said. “Would you mind waiting here? I p-promise I won’t be long!”

The frog hopped closer. “I could come with you, in case they don’t believe you alone–”

“N-N-No! I’m very sorry! Thank you!” Turning on his heel, Tsukushi sped to the edge of the glade and back towards the palace. “Please wait here!”

With that he darted off, silently repeating apologies to the frog in his head as he ran.

It was already almost lunchtime when he arrived. Placing the ball aside, Tsukushi changed out of his dirtied clothes into attire more fit for the table and made his way back to the dining room, increasingly confused about everything that had happened. A talking frog who had wanted to join him at the table? The more he thought about it, the less likely it seemed, the more it sounded like an illusion or a dream conjured up by spending too much time in the sun. Most likely it hadn’t been real at all, and even if it had, not much harm done. The frog would wait for some time and then lose patience and hop off somewhere else, and that would be the end of it.

With those thoughts in his head he took his seat at his mother’s table, and they began their meal as they always did. Their lunch was well under way, and Tsukushi had almost forgotten about the incident when suddenly their conversation was interrupted by a strange sound at the door.

“Hello,” said a voice, and with a mixture of horror and shame Tsukushi recognized the frog from earlier. “Prince, are you in there?”

Tsukushi froze in his seat. All eyes in the room rested on him. He could feel them boring into him, staring, questioning, and every last one of his coherent thoughts disappeared from his head at once.

His mother glanced up from her food. “Is someone here to see you?”

Tsukushi opened his mouth and closed it again, repeating the motion a few times until a sound came out. “Um...” he managed out at last. “It’s... um... I-I-I can explain... please wait here... I will... May I talk to this, um... this visitor?”

“Of course,” his mother said with a smile. “Open the door, please!”

The guards did as told, and in hopped the frog. And Tsukushi would rather be burning in the fires of hell than stand in this very place, at this very moment.

“Good afternoon, prince,” the frog said calmly. “Good afternoon to you too, Your Majesty. Sorry for intruding, but I was looking for your son.”

Several of the guards gasped. One of them loosened his sword. Tsukushi glanced over his shoulder at his mother, but she only looked surprised, gently motioning at the frog to speak on.

The frog glanced at her, then back at Tsukushi, and when he spoke on his voice didn’t sound angry or accusatory but surprisingly relieved. “Hey, prince!” he said. “So you’re okay after all! You took so long to come back that I followed you because I thought you fell down somewhere and broke a leg or something. Man, good thing you’re not!”

Tsukushi hung his head. Tears prickled at the sides of his eyes. He was still afraid of this frog and this entire situation, but shame had overtaken the fear, guilt at running away despite everything this frog had done for him.

Standing up from his chair, he bowed low, nearly falling over forward as he did. “I’m very sorry!” he burst out. “I tried to trick you, Mr. Frog... I panicked and ran away even though I meant to repay you! I should not have done that... after you were so nice to me and everything...” Tears filled his eyes, and he hurriedly wiped them. “I won’t do it again, I promise... so, um...”

He sniffled and glanced up. The frog was still there, his amphibian face not giving away a single emotion.

“A friend of yours, Tsukushi?”

Tsukushi turned around. His mother was looking back and forth between him and the frog, her expression curious and friendly but strict.

“Y-Yes,” he said and briefly explained everything that had gone down at the well, his voice growing quieter and quieter with shame until it finally trailed off into silence.

“So this is what happened,” his mother said before planting her hands on her hips, giving him a demanding stare. “Well, Tsukushi, you promised! What did I teach you about promises?”

“You... You keep them...”

“Exactly! So be a good boy and let this friendly frog sit on the table with you, will you?”

Tsukushi hesitated, then he knelt down and offered his hand, shivering a little when the frog hopped onto it but steadily carrying him onto the table, setting him down next to the plate. “Here,” he said. “It isn’t as much as you might expect from a royal table, but I promise it’s very good!”

The frog hopped closer and took a mouthful. “Delicious!” he exclaimed, quickly swallowing and snatching more of the food from Tsukushi’s plate. “It looks so simple, but it tastes awesome!”

“Right?” Tsukushi’s face lit up. “It’s because our cook always puts all her love into every dish!”

The frog gazed at him for a long moment, pausing in between bites. His expression was unreadable. Then at last he gave a laugh, and Tsukushi got the impression that if he had a human body, this frog would have pulled him into a playful hug and ruffled his hair just now. “You’re a weird prince!” he said cheerfully. “But I like you. What’s your name, princeling?”

“Eh?” Tsukushi blinked owlishly, unprepared for the question despite how obvious it was. “A-Ah, it’s Tsukushi! First prince of–”

“Tsukushi? Okay, nice to meet you!” The frog had a smile in his voice. “I guess I should tell you my name too, but looking like this it’s embarrassing. You see, I’m actually a prince who got cursed into this froggy form.”

Tsukushi and his mother simultaneously gave a gasp. “A prince?”

“Yeah.” The frog sounded a little sheepish now. “And I was just minding my business when I... okay, I might’ve ticked off that sorceress a little. But hey, it was worth it!” He caught sight of their stares and sobered up. “Anyway, she got mad and I’m a frog now. That’s why I invited myself in, because I’m trying to break the curse.”

“How...” Tsukushi’s voice came out soft, surprised, his eyes wide with awe and a sudden idea. “How is the curse broken?”

“Well... I have to find a beautiful princess – or prince–” the frog glanced up at Tsukushi– “who will let me eat from their plate, stay the night in their room, rest on their pillow and then–” His eyes landed on Tsukushi’s mother, and his voice trailed off. “...A-Actually, I’m gonna tell you the last one later.”

Tsukushi paused for a moment, considering. The first part of the task he had already completed. And this frog really was nice. If it was possible for him to break the curse, he wanted to give it a try and help.

“I-If it’s possible...”

The frog turned back towards him. “Hm?”

“If it’s possible... and if I’m good enough for you, since you need a beautiful prince or princess...” Tsukushi fidgeted in his lap, his face on fire, but he kept on speaking. “M-May I... give you a hand in breaking the spell?”

Complete silence.

Speechless, the frog stared up at Tsukushi, his mouth gaping open and eyes wide as saucepans, unblinking. “Uh,” he said at last, slowly, quietly, almost as if he couldn’t believe what he heard, “you...?”

“Ah– I’m sorry!” Tsukushi bowed again, his face burning even hotter with embarrassment and shame. “Of course I’m not beautiful enough, I shouldn’t have asked–”

“You’d really do this?”

Tsukushi glanced up. “Eh?”

“You’d help me? Free me from the curse?” the frog said, and this time his voice was bright with joy and hope. “You would really do that? That would be... Tsukushi, that would be the best thing ever!”

Tsukushi gaped at him, speechless in his turn. His face was still burning, but he couldn’t help cracking a smile now. “Eh? Um... You think so?”

“Of course!” There was a smile in the frog’s tone as he took a great leap and bounced up to sit on Tsukushi’s shoulder, adjusting himself against the fabric of his clothes. “If Her Royal Highness the queen doesn’t mind her son carrying a talking frog around?”

Tsukushi glanced at his mother, but he didn’t have to wait long for an answer. Her eyes were shining and sparkling, her face alight with a happiness and pride only a loving parent could feel at the successes of a beloved child. “Don’t be ridiculous!” she burst out. “What kind of mother would I be if I drove away one of my son’s few friends? Human, frog or enchanted prince, as long as you are a friend of Tsukushi’s, you will always be welcome here!”

And with that the fate of the young prince and the talking frog was sealed once and for all.

\---

The frog did not leave Tsukushi’s side for the rest of the day, and in fact, he rarely left his shoulder at all. For the entirety of his afternoon lessons he accompanied him, whispering answers to his teacher’s questions in his ear and making witty remarks until the teacher threatened to throw him out. Tsukushi had felt a little strange at first, but the more time he spent with this frog the more he grew at ease, relaxing around this strange, friendly, mischievous creature until he almost forgot about the strange form he was trapped in. Then evening came, and Tsukushi withdrew to his room to head to sleep.

“This is my chamber,” he said, closing the door behind him, feeling a million times less embarrassed than he had ever thought he would feel about a situation like this. “You said you were a prince too, so, um... you probably expected something bigger, but...”

The frog didn’t listen. Hopping off his shoulder, he bounced directly into the room, hopping onto the bed and flopping into the pillow. “Whoa, it’s so soft!” he burst out. “So bouncy and fluffy! It’s perfect for jumping around!”

Smiling, Tsukushi withdrew to change out of his day clothes and joined the frog on the bed. “I’m happy you like it,” he said, snuggling under the blanket. “My mother says most other royals look down on us because the palace is so small and everything is so simple, but...” He smiled. “Our country is poor. They need their money to buy food more than we need it to build a bigger palace. That is why only take what we need, and I think it’s enough.”

“...You’re weird.”

Tsukushi glanced up at the frog, who had made himself comfortable on the side of the pillow. “Eh?”

“A weird royal,” the frog answered. “Most of the time kings and princes wanna live their life as fancy as possible, right? You’re the first one I’ve met who is happy like this.” He shifted against the pillow, and his voice turned wistful. “Actually, I used to be one of the greedy princes too. Gold, food, girls, fancy clothes... I always had all that and then some. But as a frog I’ve been eating bugs and sleeping in ponds. Gross, right?” He made a face and laughed, and Tsukushi joined into the laugh. “I’ve missed all this human stuff. That’s why I can appreciate it now.”

“That’s good then!” Tsukushi’s smile widened. “Then this curse wasn’t all in vain, right?”

“That’s true. I wouldn’t have learned all this. Or other stuff I can use later, like how to hunt bugs and avoid birds trying to eat you.” Tsukushi laughed at that remark, and the frog lifted his head to give him a long, thoughtful look.

“And,” he said at last, “I wouldn’t have met you.”

Tsukushi didn’t know what to reply to that. He only blinked at the frog, feeling his face go slightly red as a strange, happy warmth spread throughout his chest.

For a long moment the frog blinked back, then he shifted on the pillow and hopped onto Tsukushi’s shoulder. “What? It’s true!” he said with a laugh. “You’re a really nice guy, Tsukushi. And you– Whoa!” He shot upright, only to flop down flat on Tsukushi’s back. “You’re so warm!”

“I– I am?” Tsukushi’s face heated up even further at that, even though he didn’t understand why. “I’m happy to hear that! Although, um...” He gave an awkward laugh. “It is a little strange to have a frog lying on my back.”

The frog lifted himself a little. “D’you mind?”

“No, no, not at all! Please warm up all you like, I’m happy to be of use!”

Apparently that was all the encouragement the frog needed. With a content sigh he flopped back down, stretching himself out as Tsukushi adjusted his position to better balance the strange creature on his back. His friend, he thought. They had known each other for less than a day, and yet he couldn’t help feeling like they were close, close in a way he hadn’t felt to anyone in more years than he could count. It was almost like the frog sitting in his garden was a perfectly normal human being, and when he closed his eyes he could almost picture the face of a bright-eyed, cheerful boy his age.

He wondered what kind of person this cursed prince was. What was his name? Where had he come from? Did he ever miss his family, his home kingdom? How old was he? How did he look like? There was so much he wanted to ask him, and yet his courage wavered. The frog had made it clear that he wouldn’t give out his name until he was released from the curse. Bothering him about anything else that might give away his identity would definitely make him uncomfortable.

But he could ask something else that would help him find out.

“By the way,” he said after gathering enough courage, “are you ready to tell me the final step to breaking the curse yet? It’s just, um... you said you would tell me when we are alone, so...”

“Oh, uh, about that...”

The frog rose up from his relaxed stance on Tsukushi’s back. Hopping back down onto the mattress, he crawled onto the pillow, taking his old place and making himself comfortable. “First of all, I need to sleep here,” he said. There was a moment’s pause, then his voice took a conspiratory tone as he added, “I’ll tell you the rest tomorrow.”

Tsukushi hesitated for a moment, but the wink in the frog’s tone convinced him and he gave a decisive nod. “Alright!”

“Okay then.” The frog adjusted himself again, burrowing deeper into the pillow. “Should we call it a night? It’s been so long since I slept in a bed, man.”

Tsukushi glanced down at him, snuggling into the pillow with obvious delight, and couldn’t help but smile. “That is a good idea,” he said with a yawn. “I’m getting tired too.”

“Okay! Good night, Prince Tsukushi. Sleep tight!”

“Good night... um... Prince Frog!”

“Yeah,” the frog muttered as Tsukushi pulled the covers over his shoulders and closed his eyes, “you’re a really weird royal.” He sighed comfortably. “But that’s what I like about you.”

\---

When Tsukushi woke up the next morning, the pillow was empty. He lifted his head, glancing right and left, but the frog was nowhere to be found; and when he sat up, rubbing his eyes and yawning, he found that there was no trace of him on the bed at all, or anywhere in the room. There was no one around except Tsukushi himself.

Had the frog even been real? Had all of yesterday been a dream after all?

He hoped that wasn’t the case. He didn’t want that. Everything about the frog, that afternoon had felt so real. He had had more fun in those few hours than he remembered having in a long time, and the frog had grown on him so quickly, transforming from an unsettling creature into a companion and friend in less than a day.

But still, how likely was it that all this had been real? Tsukushi hadn’t made any friends in years and years. He had tried and tried, but his awkwardness had always stood in his way, keeping him from ever forming more than a clumsy, fleeting bond. And now a talking frog of all people should have broken through that? An enchanted prince, who must have known so many more sociable, interesting people than Tsukushi? It must have been a dream. A very strange dream, but a dream nonetheless.

Slumping his shoulders, Tsukushi got out of bed, washing and dressing himself and heading to the dining room for breakfast. His mother was already there, and so were her attendant and Tsukushi’s tutor, all of them giving him curious glances as he entered and took his seat, trying his best not to let his disappointment show.

“Good morning, Tsukushi,” his mother said after a moment, giving him a curious glance. “Why the long face? Is anything the matter?”

Tsukushi gave a jolt, startled that she had seen through him despite his best attempts. “N-No!” he said hastily, waving off the question with a hasty gesture before lowering his gaze to his plate, cracking a sad little smile. “It’s nothing special,” he added quietly. “Just... a dream...”

“I see,” his mother said with a friendly smile and a slightly relieved sigh, but she still didn’t begin to eat. Instead she continued to stare at Tsukushi, as if waiting for him to say something else.

“Um...” Tsukushi said at last, squirming in his seat. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, I was just wondering... where did your frog friend go?”

Tsukushi gaped at her like she had just sprouted a second head. “Eh?”

“You know, the enchanted prince.” His mother tilted her head in question. “He didn’t leave your side all day yesterday, so I was wondering where you left him.”

“W-Wait. Wait, wait!” Tsukushi pinched himself, shook his head, then stared at his mother again. “He was  _real_?”

“Why, of course he was. We all saw him!” his mother replied, the look of confusion growing on her face as she turned to the others in the room for assistance. “Didn’t we?”

They nodded. “Yes, my lady.”

Tsukushi looked from one to the other. One part of him was happy, happy that it hadn’t been a dream, that the friendly frog prince really had become his friend and fallen asleep on his pillow. The other part, however, was even more disappointed. If the frog had been real, then where had he gone this morning? Why had he left without telling Tsukushi anything? Was that something friends did?

Had he grown tired of Tsukushi after all?

He didn’t want to think that, but it seemed so likely. That prince had been so cheerful, so outgoing, so charming, a truly enticing and cool person despite his current cursed form, and he was just Tsukushi. The shy, awkward prince of a small kingdom who panicked and messed up every time he needed to interact with someone other than his close family. Why should anyone as cool as that frog prince want to stay with someone like him? He must have grown bored of him at once and only stayed with him all day out of politeness. And now he was gone, and Tsukushi shouldn’t expect to ever see him again.

He had wanted things to be different. He had been so sure this time would be different. But in the end it had been the same as always.

Tsukushi knew he shouldn’t be disappointed, but it hurt. He had genuinely liked this enchanted prince. He had wanted to spend more time with him, get to know him better. It would have been so much fun to spend the days with him by his side, so much less lonely.

But... if that feeling was one-sided, he supposed it was for the better if the frog was gone.

The thought haunted him all throughout his morning tutoring and paperwork, weighing down on him and making him space out in the middle of work no matter how much he told himself to focus. In the end the adults gave up on trying to have him get anything done and sent him out to clear his mind in the garden.

The garden was the last place Tsukushi wanted to go to right now. He didn’t want to be reminded of yesterday’s meeting, the short-lived friendship. But he didn’t have the courage or the energy to argue back, so he put down his quill and went out in search of his beloved ball.

Except it wasn’t where he had put it yesterday.

Tsukushi searched and looked, but there was no trace of it. It had always been here, in this very spot, and yet there was nothing right now. It hadn’t rolled under any of the surrounding furniture either. The ball was gone.

Panic seized Tsukushi. He darted left and right, searching, searching again, checking every spot twice, then darting out of the room into the corridor. If the ball wasn’t in that room, then where had it gone? Had someone taken it? If so, who? His mother would have told him. So would the members of their household. But then–

Tsukushi stopped in his tracks. Changing his course mid-step, he spun around and sprinted out into the garden.

He knew where to search. If it would be anywhere, if  _he_  would be anywhere, it had to be that place. They had met there yesterday. They would meet there again.

Scratched, bruised and breathless, Tsukushi crashed through the undergrowth and leaped out onto the glade, coming to a stop at the edge of the well.

“Prince Frog!” he called, gasping and panting for air. “Prince Frog, are you here?”

“Tsukushi!”

The voice reached him from across the glade, and Tsukushi’s heart gave a leap in his chest. “Prince Frog!” he called again, darting around the well and coming to a stop in front of the familiar creature, beaming down at him with pure joy on his face. “I’m so glad you’re here... I thought you were gone!”

For a split second he wondered if he shouldn’t have said that last sentence, but before he could backtrack his words the frog leaped at him, bouncing up his body with several long bounds until finally coming to sit on his shoulder. “Dude, I’m so sorry!” he burst out. “I'm glad you’re here too, man... You know, I just woke up early and didn’t wanna wake you so I slipped out of your room and couldn’t get back in! I got lost in the palace and almost got killed by a broom!” He laughed. “Although seeing the maids from under their skirts sure was worth it. But anyway, I couldn’t get back to you and found the ball, so I just kinda... snuck out? That thing’s fun to play with!”

Tsukushi glanced at the ground, and sure enough, there was his ball lying in the undergrowth, none the worse for wear. The last of his concerns fell of his shoulders, and he laughed, wishing there was a way to pull this frog into his arms and embrace him without crushing him to death. “I see,” he said. “That’s so impressive, actually!”

“I know right? Frog sneaking skills are the coolest thing ever!” the frog said cheerfully. “You fit through all those narrow spaces! And look what I can do now!”

Without warning he leaped down from Tsukushi’s shoulder, landing on the ball and expertly balancing on it, moving it back and forth with movements of his feet. “Cool, huh?” he said, and Tsukushi nodded excitedly. “Almost makes up for not being able to kick it anymore!”

Tsukushi blinked in surprise. “Kick the ball?”

“Yeah! I used to do it all the time as a kid, it’s fun!” Leaping off the ball, the frog crawled behind it to push it in Tsukushi’s direction until it hit his feet. “You wanna give it a try?”

“M-Me?” Tsukushi stared at the ball, then at the frog, then back at the ball, lightly touching it with his foot before pausing, waiting for further instructions. “Simply... kick it?”

“Yeah, kick it! Wherever.” The frog bounced around the ball. “Try not to hit the well again though.”

Tsukushi cracked an awkward smile, glancing over his shoulder to the hole in the ground. Positioning himself to face as far away from it as possible, he took a deep breath and kicked the ball.

It bounced and rolled a few feet and came to rest among a bunch of tree-roots.

Wide-eyed, Tsukushi followed its course, staring at it for a few moments longer after it stopped moving, as if waiting for something else to happen. “Um...” and now?” he finally asked the frog. “What am I supposed to do?”

“Kick it again,” the frog said, hopping after the ball. “You could try to kick it harder, for starters. Or try and hit some kind of goal. Or you could kick it to me and then I send it back to you! I can even teach you some tricks with it if you like.”

Tsukushi glanced at the ball. Then at the frog.

He still wasn’t entirely sure of himself. He could think of a dozen different ways this could go wrong, of the ball hitting something it shouldn’t or disappearing in a tree or falling into the well again, or possibly accidentally hitting the frog and badly hurting him or worse. But the frog’s voice was encouraging him, enabling him. He sounded so confident that Tsukushi could pull this off, so confident that Tsukushi couldn’t help wanting to believe it himself.

So he smiled, took aim, and kicked the ball again.

\---

The rest of the morning and early afternoon passed by in a breeze.

Tsukushi was careful with the ball at first, but he quickly grew confidence. He messed up a lot, sure. He missed his goal many times, sent the ball into unreachable places just as often, and twice or thrice he had to chase it across half the palace grounds until he managed to catch it again. But the frog never lost faith in him no matter how much he failed, and neither did Tsukushi. He kept trying and trying, no matter how difficult it was, how many times he tripped and fell and hit the ball onto branches or into his own face. He didn’t want to give up. It was fun. Playing with the frog was fun. He never wanted to stop.

It was almost time for lunch when he finally succeeded at the simple trick the frog had been trying to teach him for hours, and the two of them were back in the glade, lying on the grass and gazing up at the blue sky, catching their breaths and watching the clouds as they passed by.

“That...” Tsukushi managed out when he finally had enough air to speak, still smiling from ear to ear. “That was fun!”

“I know, right?” The frog bounced up and landed on Tsukushi’s chest, shoving the air out of his lungs once more. “We should do this way more! I haven’t had this much fun playing in ages!”

“Me too. In fact...” Tsukushi fidgeted, twiddling his fingers a little as his cheeks heated up. “I um... I don’t think I’ve ever played ball with someone my age before...”

The frog’s head shot up. “What, never? But dude, we’re like the same age!”

“Well, um... Remember what my mother said yesterday? I don’t have many friends... or rather... almost none at all...”

“And I don’t get why,” the frog said immediately. “You’re so nice! Anybody should be lucky to call you their friend, so where’s the problem?”

If Tsukushi had been a little pink before, now he was bright red.

“E-Eh?” he stuttered out, frantically trying to gesture his own embarrassment away. “You think so? But– but– but– thank you– um– I...” 

The frog began to laugh, and Tsukushi took a deep breath to calm down the flustered jitters and startled, happy butterflies inside his chest. “I’m a little surprised to hear that from you, Prince Frog,” he said at last. “You’re so cool, I’m sure you must have been very popular at home!”

“Me... well, yes and no.” The frog gazed up at the sky, and suddenly his voice grew a lot more thoughtful. “Sure, I got along with a lot of people and stuff, but... I don’t think I had a lot of close friends.” He gave a laugh, but somehow it sounded melancholy, full of regrets. “I guess I could be kind of a jerk sometimes.”

Tsukushi gazed at him for a long time, trying to picture that. It was difficult. Maybe it hadn’t always been that way, but right now this frog prince was an incredibly nice person. He was happy-go-lucky and charming, supportive, kind, and there was a certain warmth to his voice and personality that made Tsukushi feel at ease beyond the measure of what he thought he could feel with someone outside his own family. When he tried to imagine this enchanted prince ever acting a different way, his mind came up blank.

Apparently he had been silent for a little too long, because the frog squirmed a little as he returned his stare. “Uh... what’s wrong?”

“Eh? Oh, nothing!” Tsukushi shook his head. “I was just trying to picture you being mean to someone and couldn’t, so...”

“Tsukushi...”

The frog gazed at him with wide eyes, his voice surprised, grateful and a little moved. “That’s... unexpected,” he added at last, returning back to his normal tone with an audible effort. “But I’ll just take it as a compliment! Thanks, man!”

Tsukushi smiled. The frog started laughing. Tsukushi joined into the laughter, and a moment later they were both laughing where they lay, stretched out on the grass, gazing up at the bright blue summer sky as the sun above their heads joined into their laughter.

He didn’t want to get up, he realized. He wanted to stay here forever, lying here and laughing for no reason, just because the happiness in his chest was growing too big to keep inside. He never wanted to leave this place, this moment, and he never wanted to leave his frog friend either.

He only wished the other could enjoy it just as much. He wished this strange prince wasn’t cursed into a frog form. He wished he could release him from the spell, so that the two of them could run around and kick the ball to each other and flop down backwards on the grass even better than they had today.

And then he remembered. The frog had promised to tell him today, hadn’t he?

Tsukushi paused in his laughter. Something anxious stirred in his chest, a sense of foreboding perhaps, but he refused to heed it. He wanted to ask, and he owed it to his friend.

“Um...”

The frog paused and looked up, meeting Tsukushi’s gaze with curious eyes. “Hm?”

“Well... how do I say this...” Tsukushi twiddled his fingers again, averting his gaze. “Maybe I’m annoying you with all these questions, but I really want to help you and you promised to tell me today, so let me ask you one more time...” He took a deap breath and turned back to look at the frog. “Please tell me the last step to break the curse, Prince Frog!”

There. It was out.

Silence fell over the glade. Neither Tsukushi nor the frog said a word. The only sounds within earshot were the chirping of a nearby bird and the faint rustling of the wind.

“Oh,” the frog said at last, and for some reason it sounded awfully hesitant. “Right... the way to break the curse. Well, actually, it’s kind of a big deal... Are you sure you wanna hear it?”

Tsukushi nodded without hesitation.

The frog mirrored the nod, as if to affirm himself. “Okay,” he said. “Well, the reason why I’m asking is ‘cause it’s a big step for you, and I’m not sure it’s gonna work either. Basically... it’s something that evil little witch told me when she cursed me.” He changed his voice to imitate her speech. “’You’ll be stuck in this form until you have earned your dose of humble pie!’ is what she said. ‘If you want your oh-so-charming good looks back, work on your personality. Become less insufferable until you can find someone who lets you eat at their table and sleep in their bed even in your frog form, and then loves you enough to kiss you.’”

There was an awkward silence.

“Is what she said.”

Tsukushi stared at the frog. The frog stared at Tsukushi.

Little by little Tsukushi’s entire face took on the color of an overripe cherry.

“So– um–” he stuttered out as soon as he managed to form anything akin to a coherent sentence, “to release you from the curse– I have to– um– k-k-k-ki–”

“Ah, don’t worry about it!”

Before Tsukushi could finish his sentence, the frog hopped off his chest, hastily jumping away from him to come to sit at a safe distance. “If you don’t want to, you don’t gotta!” he said, talking so quickly it was hard to make out the words. “I can just find somebody else if you don’t wanna give up your first kiss to a weird talking frog–”

He never got to finish the sentence. Before he could speak another word, he was scooped up as Tsukushi got up to his feet, pulling the frog with him to hold him at eye level about a foot from his face.

Tsukushi had been hesitant for a moment. His face was still burning, his heart pounding, but deep down his decision had already been clear. The frog’s words had only been the final push in the right direction, the last affirmation he needed to settle on this decision and carry it through to the end.

The frog gaped up at Tsukushi, wide-eyed and startled. “Uh... Are you sure?”

Tsukushi didn’t answer. He simply held the frog close to his face, squeezed his eyes shut, and lightly pressed his lips against his mouth.

At first nothing seemed to happen at all.

Then Tsukushi’s hands lost their hold on the frog. For a second it seemed as if they were holding nothing, then there was a puff of mist and smoke, and Tsukushi slowly opened his eyes to find a shadow falling onto his face.

The frog was gone. Instead Tsukushi found himself face to face with a boy. He really was about his age, taller than Tsukushi and cheerful-looking despite his expression of wide-eyed wonder, but all that were details Tsukushi barely noticed. The only thing he noticed about this boy was his face.

This boy, this prince, was the most beautiful human being he had ever seen. He seemed athletic and well-built, but even that mattered little against the sight of his face, the smoothness of his skin and the nobility of his features and the warm, long-lashed twinkling brown eyes outmatched only by the radiance of his smile. His hair was the color of spun gold or rays of the afternoon sun in summer, framing his face and falling onto his shoulders with the shimmer of silk.

“Wow,” he said, bringing up a hand to touch his own face. “It really worked.”

Tsukushi said nothing. He was at a loss for words.

“It worked!” the prince shouted out again, throwing his arms into the air before flinging himself at Tsukushi, who stumbled backwards and clumsily caught him in his arms. “It worked, man! Dude! It really worked!” Laughing from the depths of his heart, the prince wrapped both arms around Tsukushi and lifted him up in the air, spinning him round and round until they were both dizzy. “Thank you so much, Tsukushi!”

Tsukushi still didn’t answer. He simply laughed along with the prince, holding onto his muscular back and feeling the strands of his bright hair tickle his face as he was spun through the air, the circle of the glade flying past him until it grew into a blur. At long last they both lost balance, and the prince quickly put him back down on his feet as they held onto each other, staggering to a standstill.

They stood arm in arm now, chest to chest, their faces so close they could feel each other’s breath on their lips. Tsukushi tilted his face upwards to meet the foreign prince’s gaze. Brown eyes met with his own, twinkling the shade of honey in the sunlight, affectionate and mischievous as his lips curled upwards into a playful smile.

Tsukushi returned the smile, even if it came out shaky as the butterflies inside him stirred anew. “You’re welcome,” he said. “I’m happy it helped!”

“No, you don’t understand. I owe you big time.” The prince’s smile turned into a smirk. “I mean, wasn’t it pretty gross to kiss a frog?”

Without a second’s hesitation Tsukushi shook his head. “No, not at all!” he said. “It did feel a little strange, but...”

“Hey now, you’re too nice!” Laughing, the prince took a step backward to ruffle Tsukushi’s hair before smiling and bowing his head. “And I haven’t even introduced myself yet,” he said. “I’m Jin, second son of the House of Kazama. Nice to meet you, Tsukushi!”

“It’s my pleasure, Prince Jin!”

“Come on, that’s my line.” The smirk on the prince’s face reappeared, and he leaned into Tsukushi again, almost bumping their foreheads together. “Are you sure you’re fine with that kiss? Because I’ll gladly make up for it now.”

Tsukushi blushed at the smile, the hushed tone in Jin’s voice. Some small part of him was flustered and panicking, but the rest of him was only happy. Shy and incredulous, but happy. His mind might still be having doubts, but every inch of his heart was telling him that this was perfectly, wonderfully right.

So he stood on his tip-toes and met the prince’s lips in a second kiss.

For how long they stood together like this neither of them could say. Time seemed to stop around them, the world consisting of nothing but the glade and the well and the blue sky above their heads. But when they finally parted, as slowly and carefully as they had kissed, both of them felt as if they had just woken up from a dream.

Jin took a step backwards and gave a slight grin, his face still flushed and strangely innocent compared to his earlier expression, and Tsukushi returned the smile. Following a sudden impulse he reached forward to take the enchanted prince’s hand and lead him back to the palace–

–when his eyes came to rest on something he hadn’t been meaning to see.

Before this his eyes had only been focused on Jin’s face, so he had ignored the glimpse of bare shoulders underneath his shimmering crown of hair. But now that he was looking at all of him, Tsukushi could no longer ignore that the prince was not only bare-shouldered or even shirtless, but completely naked from head to toe.

“Tsukushi?” Jin asked, his eyes widening as Tsukushi turned to stone on the spot. “What’s wr–  _oh, crap._ ”

Hastily looking around, the prince sprinted off and returned back to Tsukushi with a leafy branch held awkwardly in front of his private parts, coming to stop in front of him with a very sheepish grin.

“Sorry about that! Uh... you got any clothes I could borrow?”

\---

The prince did find suitable clothes soon afterwards, and Tsukushi led him back to the palace to introduce him to his mother. The queen was baffled but so awed by the looks and charm of the handsome young man that she readily gave their bond her blessing, and for several weeks he stayed at the palace with Tsukushi, disturbing his private lessons and teaching him how to kick a ball. Eventually he returned back to his homeland, and after the first commotion of his reappearance he invited Tsukushi with him to see his country. They spent much time traveling from town to town, and in the end Jin brought him to visit the witch who had cursed him, simply to brag about his victory and the wonderful prince who had freed him. The witch, however, was not at all displeased; in fact, she seemed to be rather happy with the development, sending them back off with a smug smile and a spell to keep away all dampers on their relationship as long as their love held true.

This time the witch’s spell was not broken, and Jin finally left his home country again to stay with Tsukushi once and for all. The bond between their two countries was strengthened greatly, and the small, poor kingdom of Tsukushi and his mother flourished like never before.

And so they lived happily ever after until the end of their days.


End file.
